Bill Text: NY S02777 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to requiring certain employers to provide workforce demographics and equity measurements to the division of human rights annually, including each employee's race, ethnicity, age, and sex or gender identity or expression, as well as the employee's job category, date of hire, salary or wages, training received, raises, promotions, disciplinary actions, terminations and benefits, including but not limited to unpaid benefits or privileges such as flexible scheduling, the ability to work from home, or the ability to bring children to work.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02777 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S02777-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2777

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 25, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. SEPULVEDA, MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Investigations
          and Government Operations

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  executive law, in relation to requiring certain
          employers to provide workforce demographics and equity measurements to
          the division of human rights annually

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 296-e
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 296-e.  Workforce  demographics  and  equity  measurements.  1.  Any
     4  employer  with  greater  than one hundred persons in employ per calendar
     5  year or who bids, applies, is awarded or  receives  any  combination  of
     6  state  or  municipal  contracts or grant funds directly or indirectly in
     7  excess of fifty thousand dollars per calendar year shall file an  annual
     8  report  documenting  employee  demographics and equity measurements with
     9  the division. Such demographic data shall include each employee's  race,
    10  ethnicity,  age,  and  sex  or gender identity or expression. The equity
    11  measurements shall include each employee's job category, date  of  hire,
    12  salary  or  wages,  training  received, raises, promotions, disciplinary
    13  actions, terminations and benefits, including but not limited to  unpaid
    14  benefits  or privileges such as flexible scheduling, the ability to work
    15  from home, or the ability to bring children to work.
    16    2. The division shall develop electronic reporting forms to  be  filed
    17  for each employee's data and for the employer's general data.
    18    3.  The  division  shall  aggregate the electronic forms into a report
    19  that lists equity measurements  for  each  employer  including  but  not
    20  limited  to  job  category,  mean  and median earnings, benefits, hiring
    21  selection,  training,  raises,  promotions,  disciplinary  actions,  and
    22  terminations listed in the form of percentages from highest to lowest by
    23  the demographic factors listed above.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06210-01-1

        S. 2777                             2

     1    4.  The  division shall provide the aggregated report to each employer
     2  along with a simplified report in plain  language.  The  employer  shall
     3  provide such simplified report in plain language to each current employ-
     4  ee  and  any  former  employee  employed  during the reporting year. The
     5  report shall be accompanied by a summary in plain language of employees'
     6  rights under Title VII Civil Rights Act Title of 1964, this article, and
     7  any  applicable local statutes for which the employer falls under juris-
     8  diction including instructions and deadlines for filing a  complaint  to
     9  the equal employment opportunity commission, the division, and any other
    10  fair  employment  protection  agency  or similarly tasked authority with
    11  jurisdiction over the employer. The employer shall make  the  aggregated
    12  report available to the public upon request.
    13    5.  The  division  shall  aggregate  all data on a statewide level and
    14  provide an annual report to the governor and the legislature that  shall
    15  be made public on the division's website.
    16    6.  Failure to comply with the reporting provisions of this section or
    17  providing false information  may  be  offered  as  proof  of  employment
    18  discrimination in a complaint and offered as proof in probation, suspen-
    19  sion,  and debarment rulings pursuant to subdivision eighteen of section
    20  two hundred ninety-five of this article.
    21    7. Failure to comply with the reporting provisions of this section  or
    22  providing false information shall require an employer to file an amended
    23  disaggregated report with the division and provide an amended aggregated
    24  report to all current and former employees employed during the reporting
    25  year.  The statutory period for filing personal claims with the division
    26  and any other New York fair employment protection agency shall begin  to
    27  run  on the day after the amended aggregated report has been provided to
    28  all current and former employees who were employed during the  reporting
    29  year.
    30    8.  Any board member or officer of the employer who knowingly provides
    31  false information, including by encouraging or instructing  subordinates
    32  to do so, or who knowingly manipulates their corporate structure for the
    33  purpose  of  producing  favorable  aggregate  report  outcomes  shall be
    34  subject to the penalties under section two hundred ninety-nine  of  this
    35  article.
    36    §  2.  Section  295  of the executive law is amended by adding two new
    37  subdivisions 17 and 18 to read as follows:
    38    17. To require of any employer reports pursuant to section two hundred
    39  ninety-six-e of this article and to carry out the duties  set  forth  in
    40  such section.
    41    18.  To  set  forth  rules  and regulations that include standards for
    42  probation, suspension and debarment of  employers  from  all  state  and
    43  municipal contracts and grants as direct or indirect awardees and recip-
    44  ients  on the basis of excessive discrimination claims, selection proce-
    45  dures found to have adverse impact, failure to file workforce demograph-
    46  ics and equity measurements reports as required in section  two  hundred
    47  ninety-six-e  of  this  article,  apparent  and  probable discriminatory
    48  employment and promotion practices discovered through  review  of  work-
    49  force  demographics  and equity measurements reports required in section
    50  two hundred ninety-six-e of this  article,  or  by  other  investigative
    51  methods.    Employer  probationary  periods  included  in  the standards
    52  promulgated pursuant to this subdivision shall last  no  less  than  one
    53  year,  during  which  time  the employer may demonstrate to the division
    54  that he or she has complied with rules and regulations regarding employ-
    55  ee selection procedure and employment and promotion practices promulgat-
    56  ed pursuant to this article. If after this  period  the  division  finds

        S. 2777                             3

     1  that  the  employer  still exhibits discriminatory practices in employee
     2  selection procedure or employment and  promotion  practices,  suspension
     3  periods  of  six  to  eighteen  months  or debarment periods of eighteen
     4  months  to  three years from state and municipal contracts and grants as
     5  direct or indirect recipients may  be  issued.  Consecutive  probations,
     6  suspensions,  and debarments may be issued based on continued failure to
     7  comply.
     8    § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 297 of the executive law, as amended  by
     9  chapter 160 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    10    5. Any complaint filed pursuant to this section must be so filed with-
    11  in  one  year  after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice or one
    12  year after an employer makes reasonable attempts to provide a  workforce
    13  demographics  and  equity  measurements  report  pursuant to section two
    14  hundred ninety-six-e of this article, whichever occurs later.  In  cases
    15  of sexual harassment in employment, any complaint filed pursuant to this
    16  section  must  be so filed within three years after the alleged unlawful
    17  discriminatory practices.
    18    § 4. Subdivision 5 of section 292 of the executive law, as amended  by
    19  chapter 161 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    20    5.  The  term "employer" shall include all employers within the state.
    21  As set forth in section two hundred ninety-six-e of this article, parent
    22  companies and subsidiaries  shall  be  combined  to  meet  criteria  for
    23  required reporting.
    24    §  5. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
    25  law.
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